


Two Cousins, a Pick-Up Truck, and an Open Road

by AdrianExists



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Cousins, Fluff, Road Trips, don't put too much thought into this modern au, really this is just cute shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28364847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianExists/pseuds/AdrianExists
Summary: It's fluff, just fluff.





	Two Cousins, a Pick-Up Truck, and an Open Road

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timmy_and_scribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=timmy_and_scribbles).



“Juli… Juli… Juli. Juli.” Each time her name was said, it was punctuated with a poke to her side.

“What… What… What…?” She grumbled, curling around the shitty motel pillow under her head. She was attempting to ignore her cousin, to… mixed results. She could  hear him put his hands on his hips, and physically  feel the annoyed glare on her face. “Juli, you’ve gotta get up.”

“What time is it?” She grumbled. He raised an eyebrow. “It’s time to go.” She ignored him, finding her phone on the nightstand beside her bed and turning it on. She squinted at the brightness, looking at the time. Her squint narrowed as she realized the time. “Adrian… It’s four thirty am.”

“Yes, I know.”

She sat up, glaring at her cousin. “Why in the fuck are you waking me up at forty thirty am.” It wasn’t a question, and was, instead, a borderline accusation. Her shoulders were hunched over her lap, hair a mess of curls and knots this early in the morning, and given that her cousin had a brush in his hands that he seemed about five milliseconds from throwing at her, he was prepared already. “Because we gotta get goin’,” he said simply, turning away to go and find her some clothes.

“ Why do we gotta get goin’?” She grumbled, even as she threw the comforter and blankets off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. He hummed as he eventually found a pair of comfy jeans and shirt and hoodie and socks and threw them at her. “Because we’re going on a road trip,” he replied before standing up and starting to do his personal idiot check. “And our drive still has over six hours to go. And that’s if we’re taking the toll highways, which!” He poked his head out of the bathroom he was in, dramatic and looking so much like his boyfriend, it was scary, “we fuckin’ aren’t.” He disappeared into the bathroom. “Because I refuse to pay a hundred dollars for a fuckin’ toll road.”

She groaned and held her head. “Adri, this is why you buy one of those… fuckin’ passes.” She threw her hands up, vaguely annoyed. “I dunno! I’m a New Yorker! I’m from Queens!” She snapped. Her cousin returned from his bathroom jaunt, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at her. “An’ I’m from Oklahoma,” he pointed out casually. “Ya fuckin’ point.”

“Fuck you, cowboy.”

“Same to you, yank.” He finished packing his bags, rocking back onto his heels and humming as he inspected them. “I’m still unsure as to why Lucio packed me two pairs o’ heels, but.” He shrugged, not really caring. “I don’ know what clubbin’ he thinks we’re gonna get up to.” He watched his cousin slowly get up and start to brush out her hair, grumbling as she made her way over to the bathroom to start getting ready.

“If you think that’s bad, imagine three fully stocked first aid kits,” she sighed, throwing off her PJs and starting to change. “I seriously don’t know what  trouble Julian expects us to get into.” She only stepped back out into the rest of the room once her pants, socks, and at least a bra was on. Adrian grinned, leaning against the doorframe. “I’m still in wonder as to how you started datin’ a Russian doctor,” he half teased. “Especially given his sister.”

“And I’m still in wonder as to how you started dating someone from New Jersey,” Julianne retorted back, throwing him a sardonic look, “especially given his mother.” Her frown twitched up into a smile at the good natured flinch Adrian gave her. She returned to getting ready, mindlessly tidying and getting ready to go as she did, Adrian continuing to fill the space with noise.

“Okay, to be fair, Lucio did go and make a life for himself once he was kicked out. And you gotta admit, for a nearly forty year old, he’s hot. Like, super hot. Like holy fuck.” He ran a hand through his bleached hair, though his roots were starting to show his more natural color. “And also, holy fuck,” he snickered crudely, earning him Juli stopping, throwing a glare over his shoulder before turning back to the sinks, spitting out the foam in her mouth, and returning to glaring at him. “What?” He asked coyly.

“Dude, Jesus  Christ . Also,” she paused, thinking, “isn’t Lucio  already over forty?” At his clearly vaguely uncomfortable shrug, she let it drop. That was still something he was… coming to terms with. How he lost four years of his life due to that damn coma. She turned back to her toothbrush as she packed it up, scowling. She  still wanted to hunt down his mother and make her pay. Unsure how or why, but God, she wanted to. Her cousin didn’t deserve that. Though, “wasn’t he your babysitter, once upon a time?” She asked, turning to him with a grin.

That got a light laugh out of him. “God, yea… Seventeen when I was three,” he confirmed. “And then we re-met up first year in college. Can you imagine? Running into your babysitter in a gay bar and he’s a fashion designer.” He snickered at the memory. “What sorta fairytale  bullshit is that?” That, and, well…

Juli’s own snickering drew him out of his mind. “Yea, and he waited on you, hand and foot, for over four years.” She grinned, even as she was thankful that ended up happening. “Honestly, terrible as that entire thing  was , I don’t think we would’ve found our boyfriends if we hadn’t.” Adrian nodded behind her. “Yea… thank God Julian was working on the same floor.” He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. “And that you spilled coffee on him.”

She turned around and sputtered indignantly. “I…! That was on accident!” She was still turning red as her boyfriend’s hair, and it got worse as Adrian laughed. “He… he didn’t  have to take me up on me getting him a replacement!”

“And  you didn’t have to suggest that really fancy, really pricey, really  romantic place up the road on Wyble street, now did you?” He teased, even as he pulled out his phone. Some latest model of Apple. Probably one that hadn’t hit the shelves and wouldn’t for another year or so. “Even so… I’m glad you did,” he admitted, clearly texting someone. His eyes darted up a second later, a smile crinkling his face. “You two’re so cute together.” Julianne flushes and preens at his compliment, tucking some of her hair behind an ear. “Almost as cute as me and Lucio.”

He barely manages to duck out the way of a thrown shoe.

Juli let her head thunk against the window again, watching as the trees of Tennessee flew by. God, this was a boring state. “The only interesting thing is the fucking Jesus signs,” she grumbled. “And they get better once we reach Kansas,” Adrian agreed, gently pushing at her knee. The music on the radio had died a while ago, and neither of them had bothered to pull out a playlist on their phones. The roads couldn’t decide if they wanted to be cracked and ridden with holes like an addict’s skin, or smoother and straighter than a river rock in a Catholic’s hands.

And it was starting to get on Juli’s nerves. “I don’t know how you can live out here,” she muttered, glaring out the window harder. “Seriously, these roads alone are shittier than New York’s…”

He raised an eyebrow at her, forcing himself not to scoff. “Uhm… Juls?”

“What.”

“May I remind you when you went swimming in one of your city’s pot holes?” He pointed out flatly, watching with a sort of petty glee as she went bright red. “S-shaddup!” He shook his head, cackling lightly. “Nope. And I ain’ sayin’ life on the road’s any better than the fancy city slicker life y’all got,” he said, putting his elbow on the door and leaning his head on his fist, “but I do enjoy it. Besides,” he punched her shoulder, “you were the one who wanted to know what it was like.”

She mumbled more curses at him. It was true. She’d been the one to ask what it was like.

And so far, it was boring. “How do you stay entertained this entire time?” She asked, groaning. Adrian just laughed at her again. “Listen to music,” he admitted, “listen to videos. Occasionally do podcasts. Mostly, just listen to shit. Or pull over and relax for an hour or two before keepin’ goin’.” His eyes darted to her for a second. “Why? Road life ain’t fer you, city slicker?” He teased.

“Apparently not,” Julianne huffed again. “Now, my bigger question is,” she turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “How on  Earth do you and Lucio have  sex? ”

Adrian was, honestly, taken aback by the question. Enough so that he blinked and had to process. “Besides like… sexting and just phone sex in general?” He asked, looking at her for a beat. She nodded, and he returned his gaze to the road, letting out a heavy breath. “To put it shortly, there’s a reason you rarely see me when I visit New York.”

It took her a moment before, “Adrian?”

“Yea?”

“... That’s gross.”

He scoffed and raised his hands for a beat in surrender. “Hey, you asked to know!” He shook his head. “At least I ain’ goin’ into  all the details of what we do,” he pointed out. “But no. Whenever I come to New York, if I’m not hangin’ out with you, I’m usually with Lucio having my brains railed out.”

Her hands flew up in defense, as if she could stop what he just said. “Too much info!” She shrieked, shaking her head, eyes screwed close. “Why would you  tell me that?!”

“Because you fuckin’ asked!” He snapped back, before even realizing they were low on gas. “Fuckin’ hell… well, we made it aroun’ twelve hours before needin’ to fill up.” That was pretty good, in his books. He mapped out the nearest gas station in his head before humming. “You hungry?”

Juli stretched and yawned. “Yea… Don’t know how I managed to survive bein’ cooped up in a car all day long, but I did it.” Adrian chuckled and nodded, patting her knee. “Ya did it,” he confirmed. “And we’ve still got a while to go. We’ll hit Nashville, Bentonville, Stillwater, an’ then Santa Fe.” He turned to her, eyes sparkling. “Sound good?”   
“I’ve no idea what any of those places are,” she replied back flatly. “Again, I’m just a New Yorker.” To use his words. He still shook his head, almost exasperated by her. “Jesus… I forget that the farthest you’ve gone is fuckin’ Salem…”

Juli practically frilled up like a pissed off bird. “And what’s  that supposed to mean?” She snarled, glaring at him and crossing her arms. “Are you saying I’m not well traveled?!” The flat, borderline cold look she got in response told her everything she needed to know, and she calmed down. “Shit… sorry.”

He waved a hand, chuckling. “Stop apologizin’. You haven’ had yer coffee yet,” he pointed out, going through an exit. “Once you’ve got yer coffee, you’ll be fine.” She sighed, leaning back in her seat. “Yea… Yea you’re probably right.” She let out a deep breath, watching as the trees whizzed past the window, signs showing what lay up ahead. And soon, the trees thinned, showing civilization. Or, what passed for it.

Adrian remained mostly still, eyes on the road and taking in everything, easily finding a gas station and pulling into it. Once he was in a stall, he opened the door and stepped out, stretching. Juli followed suit, sighing and groaning. “Fuck… why’re cars so cramped?” She whined, pouting at him over the top of it. “Couldn’t you’ve gotten a pickup?”

He rolled his eyes, laughing at her. “I could’ve! But it wouldn’t fit through New York and other cities.” He waved at her to follow him into the station’s shop, dodging around cars as if it were second nature. She followed quickly behind, scurrying a bit more, unsure of what she was to do. As he opened the door, her eyes lit up. “It’s so… fucking  dingy! ” She said, stepping inside and looking around. “Wow… and I thought  Jersey was bad,” she joked, turning to him with a grin. He laughed at her, shaking his head. “My God… well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” he assured, leading her over to the coffee and donuts. “They get worse the further west you get. Especially bad around New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado.”

“No…!” She said, scandalized, even as she grabbed a coffee cup and started to look through the flavors. “Really? How in the fuck…?” She shook her head, getting some French vanilla before heading over to grab some creamer. “How can they get worse?” He shrugged, following her around. “They can. Mostly the bathrooms.”

She forced herself not to gag as she got her coffee and started to inspect the packaged donuts, face scrunching up as she looked at them. “These look ancient,” she stage whispered, turning to him with something that was  meant to be mock horror, but was straight up normal horror instead. Adrian laughed at her reaction, grinning as he replied, “they probably are. At least a few months old.” The heaving sigh from the cashier told him that yes. Yes, he was right. He would throw it into their face, but… He decided otherwise, instead putting his hands in his back pockets and rocking on his feet, watching her. “So… anything appeal to your high tastes?” He teased.

“No,” Juli replied after a long moment, sighing and standing upright. “I guess just the coffee.” She shrugged, half gesturing to her paper, to-go cup. Adrian nodded, and led them up front to pay.

“Adrian, what’s that?”

“That’s a sign, Juli.”

“A sign for what.”

“For God. Literally.”

She turned to him, glaring. “Adrian, that was a billboard of Jesus Christ walking out of wheat on the I-70. That has to have been a meme.”

He sighed and shook his head, watching the road. “I wish it was,” he admitted. “But no, the creators are apparently still big believers, and commissioned someone to make that sign. They figured that it would basically be like…” He snapped his fingers, scowling as he tried to remember. “It’s basically like… thank Jesus, I guess? Anyways,” he shrugged, “it’s basically so bizarre because they owners figured that by making something really fucking odd and weird and shit, people would stop and get interested in Christianity, I guess.”

Juli paused, staring at him before sputtering into laughter, flailing slightly. He looked over at her for a beat, grinning. “What?”

“That’s just so ridiculous!” She shrieked, still grinning. Adrian nodded, still grinning. “I know! And I  still don’t get it!” He smacked the wheel, still laughing slightly with her. “Like, if anything, that’d turn me  away from Christianity. Because like, if Jesus Christ himself is gonna come  waltzing outta a wheat field , holding some wheat like a fuckin’ bat, I’d be  terrified. ”

“It has the same energy as the utterly  horrifying angels said like, “Do not be afraid” or some shit,” Juli cackled. The two of them continued to laugh until Adrian needed to pull over, practically hacking up a lung. After a few moments of laughter, quiet, and then breaking back into it, Adrian pulled them back onto the road, and took off once more.

He sighed in relief of at the not longer laughing his lungs out, watching the road in front of them. After a beat, “so… Santa Fe, yea?”   
Juli hummed in agreement. “Santa Fe. We’re stopping in a few places though, yea?” Adrian nodded. “Mhm, yup. Bentonville, Stillwater, and then Santa Fe. It’ll be a few days trip.” He looked over at her, eyebrow raised. “You up for it, Yank?”

“Only if you can keep drivin’, cowboy.”


End file.
